Our local mechanic has expressed scepticism over whether you're really getting a discount, suggesting that your dealer will increase the price of the car to cover the cost of the "discount", and thus ensuring that it is the manufacturer / dealer who benefits from the government's incentive, and not the consumer.

Is there any truth in this?

Not in my experience. I have an Octavia on order through the scrappage scheme. The scrappage car is a T registered Mondeo which is not worth very much. I managed to get £4200 off the RRP using the scheme, so I am very happy with it. HTH

Not in my experience. I have an Octavia on order through the scrappage scheme. The scrappage car is a T registered Mondeo which is not worth very much. I managed to get £4200 off the RRP using the scheme, so I am very happy with it. HTH

So you managed to negotiate an additional 700 quid dealer discount on top of the 3.5k scrappage reduction (for a vRS diesel, I believe) ?

When you can get a new one from Motorpoint for under £15k you do have to think that the discount from RRP isn't really anything you couldn't get before. Difference being everyone's taxes are paid to the motor industry via this scheme.

So you managed to negotiate an additional 700 quid dealer discount on top of the 3.5k scrappage reduction (for a vRS diesel, I believe) ?

Correct...

When you can get a new one from Motorpoint for under £15k you do have to think that the discount from RRP isn't really anything you couldn't get before. Difference being everyone's taxes are paid to the motor industry via this scheme.

My car is not on order from Motorpoint, it is from a Skoda UK main dealer local to me and it's being built to my specification.

If you could negotiate a £4200 discount off a new vRS from a main dealer built to your spec before the scheme then I'd say your doing very well

And I agree with cheezemonkhai that it is our taxes being paid to the motor industry via the scheme but if your in a position to take advantage of it then why not.

When I was considering a 1.4TSI DSG Elegance the dealer wasn't able/willing to offer any additional discount on top of the scrappage scheme because of the supply-demand situation with this particular engine.

One of the options I'm now considering is either a used, low mileage, pre-facelift vRS or a brand new vRS via the scrappage scheme. If I can haggle an additional discount like you, I may decide to buy new.

You are all forgetting one thing.

Just before the scrappage scheme started, Skoda, along with most big name manufactures increased the price of all their new cars by around 2-3K expecting the scheme to start soon. Skoda also removed a number of free offers that were already running at the time. So, just a few days before the scheme started it would have been possible to get a new car cheaper than now without using the scrappage scheme.

The scrappage scheme, is therefore a big con designed to get you in the showroom and the car makers make even more money having just increased their prices, as the profit margin is increased big time. It looks good to Jo public, but in reality the makers and dealers are milking the system for every penny.

Another thing to consider, is that some who would not have bought a new car this year may well do so now. What this does is mean that they will now not buy when they were going to, so all the scheme does in this case is move the sales to this year, whilst sales next year and for at least the next 4 years will be down lots as the people who purchase now struggle to pay off loans on their purchase which will most likely be worth a lot less than the outstanding credit for many years.

Next April, VAT will have to be increased, so that us the taxpayer can pay for all these cars purchased on scrappage and the disposal of old cars. It will not go back to the 17.5% is was before. I expect VAT to rise to at least 20%, possibly higher as it has in France/Germany to pay for a simillar scheme.

Edited 21 July, 200916 yr by mannyo

You are all forgetting one thing.

Another thing to consider, is that some who would not have bought a new car this year may well do so now. What this does is mean that they will now not buy when they were going to, so all the scheme does in this case is move the sales to this year, whilst sales next year and for at least the next 4 years will be down lots as the people who purchase now struggle to pay off loans on their purchase which will most likely be worth a lot less than the outstanding credit for many years.

In addition to what Mannyo said: The large increase in new car sales over a short period of time will mean there will be an increase in used cars for sale in the next couple of years. This will in turn affect re-sale values of the cars bought now, which may negate alot of the savings made under the scrappage scheme. It will also mean a reduction in new car sales as there will be lots of good, cheap young 2nd hand cars for sale!

They should have just left it alone to take its natural course. But the goverment are trying to avoid any blame for when the car manufactures start shedding 1000's of jobs.

I've ordered an Octavia 1.4 TSI Elegance and taking 'advantage' of the scrappage scheme. For me it was probably just worthwhile as I particularly wanted a new car to my own specification (although the only extra I did specify other than metalic paint was the multifunction steering wheel with maxidot, but also chose Ivory upholstery) and considered it would be difficult or impossible to get a pre-registered one. Also the car I'm trading in is probably only worth around £800, maybe less from a dealer and I didn't want the hassle of having to sell it myself.

The dealer refused to offer any more than the scrappage allowance of £2500 of the OTR price. The main issue I have off the scheme is that the discount is of the OTR price and not the basic price therefore the Government are claiming back 15% of it.

Although I'm very happy with my current car it is now 11 years old and it's likely that I may start having serious problems with it and also I doubt whether cars will ever be this cheap again especially when the VAT goes back to 17% or more. Also because of the euro-GBP exchange rate I think the price of cars here is substantially cheaper than in other European countries. if you go to the Skoda websites elswhere in Europe then similar spec'd cars appear to be substantially more than in the UK.

The Scrappage scheme worked for me (I think!) but it certainly is not a good a deal as the Government and manufacturers would have us believe.

You are all forgetting one thing.

Just before the scrappage scheme started, Skoda, along with most big name manufactures increased the price of all their new cars by around 2-3K expecting the scheme to start soon. Skoda also removed a number of free offers that were already running at the time. So, just a few days before the scheme started it would have been possible to get a new car cheaper than now without using the scrappage scheme.

The scrappage scheme, is therefore a big con designed to get you in the showroom and the car makers make even more money having just increased their prices, as the profit margin is increased big time. It looks good to Jo public, but in reality the makers and dealers are milking the system for every penny.

Another thing to consider, is that some who would not have bought a new car this year may well do so now. What this does is mean that they will now not buy when they were going to, so all the scheme does in this case is move the sales to this year, whilst sales next year and for at least the next 4 years will be down lots as the people who purchase now struggle to pay off loans on their purchase which will most likely be worth a lot less than the outstanding credit for many years.

Next April, VAT will have to be increased, so that us the taxpayer can pay for all these cars purchased on scrappage and the disposal of old cars. It will not go back to the 17.5% is was before. I expect VAT to rise to at least 20%, possibly higher as it has in France/Germany to pay for a simillar scheme.

I agree but.....if you missed the boat and didn't (or couldn't) purchase new before Skoda's 2-3k price increases, and you're still in the market for a new car, buying now (scrappage plus 15% VAT plus possible additional dealer discounts) seems like a good time to do so. As Atty said earlier in this thread, he managed a 4.2k discount on a brand new (ordered to his exact spec) FL vRS and that's at the current 15% VAT rate. I doubt you'll be able to match that kind of discount from an authorized Skoda dealer in the future without using the scrappage scheme, even if the economy tanks further.

I'm no car price expert but I think it's slightly exaggerated to say Skoda increased their prices 2-3K before the scrappage scheme was launched. After looking at some of Skoda's RRP's from 2006 through to 2009 I think a more realistic figure would be £600-£700 and most of it due to normal inflation.

I agree with mannyo that some of the other incentives such as free servicing & 0% finance are not available, but only if using the scrappage scheme.

I think cars now are still cheaper in real terms than what they were years ago. When I bought my Passat 11 years ago the list price was around £18,000 and there was a long waiting list so no discounts. The Skoda I've just ordered with the scrappage discount is less than £13,000. Possibly a similar spec'd Passat today would be a little more but then the Octavia is better spec'd for less money than I paid 11 years ago.

I'm no car price expert but I think it's slightly exaggerated to say Skoda increased their prices 2-3K before the scrappage scheme was launched. After looking at some of Skoda's RRP's from 2006 through to 2009 I think a more realistic figure would be £600-£700 and most of it due to normal inflation.

I agree with mannyo that some of the other incentives such as free servicing & 0% finance are not available, but only if using the scrappage scheme.

Where can one get prices from last year and previously for the sake of comparison?

This is partly why I'm finding the scrappage scheme pros and cons debate rather bewildering, and I no longer know who to believe.